Japanese carmaker Toyota and German competitor BMW have announced an agreement to work together on environmentally friendly motoring.

Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), the two companies will collaborate in the medium to long term on next generation lithium ion batteries.

In the meantime, BMW will supply Toyota with its 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre diesel engines, which will be installed in some Toyota vehicles for the European market starting in 2014.

The agreement signals Toyota’s intentions to expand its European range of fuel-efficient, low CO₂ emitting diesel vehicles.

“Supplying Toyota with our fuel efficient and dynamic diesel engines represents another important step in the planned expansion of our sales activities for engines and powertrain system,” says Norbert Reithofer, chair of BMW’s management board.

President of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, says the collaboration on environmental technologies will enable both companies to build better cars.

For further information:
www.toyota-global.com/
www.bmw.com/

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